The present invention relates to a pneumatic tire, more particularly to a tread pattern capable of improving the drainage and snowy road performance without sacrificing the steering stability and uneven wear resistance.
A pneumatic tire (t) which is provided in the tread portion (a) with circumferential grooves (s) and axial grooves (g) to form a plurality of blocks (b) defining a block pattern has been widely employed. Further, as shown in FIG. 6, a technique to improve the drainage and snowy road performance such as traction of such pneumatic tire by additionally disposing auxiliary grooves (h) extending between the axial grooves (g) and inclined to the same direction as the axial grooves (g) has been widely employed. In this technique however, acute-angled corners (k) formed between the axial grooves (g) and auxiliary grooves (h) are liable to wear rapidly, and the tread pattern rigidity becomes relatively low in the acute-angled corners (k), which deteriorates the steering stability.